[ale] VM ? (addendum: without windows licenses?)

[Steve Brown]

Michael B. Trausch wrote:
>Yes.  The hard part is knowing when Windows is actually required, and
>only merely listed as a requirement because everyone else does.  For
>example, when I signed up for school online, I figured that they wanted
>Windows XP because it was recent and supported by Microsoft so that >they
didn't have to field requests about people's systems.  It's like >ComCast
saying, you have to have Windows.  Well, not really, they'll only
>support Windows.  Well, it seems that there are still some things that
>OpenOffice.org hasn't caught up with Microsoft Office with, and getting
>the teachers to use OpenOffice.org is not an option.  *sigh*

That's wack. My school has the same requirements for their online stuff
(WebCT); it works under Linux but I needed to install the JRE *shudder*. The
teachers on there will actually recommend OpenOffice to you if you can't get
M$ Office. You should check to see if your school is part of the MSDNAA,
that way you can get free copies of all MS' stuff (except Office, of
course). Also, if you are forced to use IE, then I would recommend trying
out Avant Browser. It's based off of IE (or it was when I was using it), so
it's still kind of like you're on the dark side.

As for RMS, he makes very good points, and I agree with most of the things
he says. Free as in freedom is how I like my software; but I definately
don't think that simply using proprietary software is "ethically wrong".
It's not preferable, but I don't see it as a moral issue. Some of us have to
live in the real world, and sometimes the other choice is nothing (or in our
case, not getting an education).

-SteveB
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